Not Every Story Has a Happy Ending
by I Don't Ship StingLu. Or do I
Summary: The last thing she ever saw was the guilt, shock, and sadness in his eyes. She died with a sad and lonely heart. (One-Shot/Challenge for Blazeclan)


Sunleaf lay on a rock, feeling the suns heat as it seemed to sooth her aching muscles. She had always loved the sun. It was where her name had come from, and it helped the cats in so many ways. It warmed them, it made things light, but most of all it was like a beautiful golden orb in the sky that was too bright to look at. Maybe the cat who could look directly at it would be the one to capture its beauty at the fullest, when they can look at it head on. Until that day, no cat would know all of its beauty.

Just then, Oakshard walked into the camp. Sunleaf watched the handsome tom, as he laid four pieces of prey in the pile. She sighed with longing. He was the most magnificent and perfect tom out there. He always caught prey, even in leaf-bare. He treated everyone as an equal, never holding himself above others. He was handsome and funny as well, which Sunleaf would've been happy without of course. She judged more on his character than his handsome looks. Just then, _she_ walked up to him.

She was Swirledpath. Swirledpath was a silvery-grey color with black swirling patterns on her. She was the most sought after by males for two reasons. She was beautiful, charming, good at hunting, and otherwise _perfect_ in that way. Too perfect for her own good if you asked Sunleaf. She had horrible character, and was extremely rude to other cats. She never asked permission to do anything, and had even got cats hurt before because of it.

The second reason was that she was the leader's daughter, and one thing about the leader was that he doted on her. He always heavily hinted that whoever became his daughters mate had a high likelihood to become deputy. Their leader was Scarletstar. He was too young to be a leader, or a father for that matter, and didn't always make the best choices. Their current deputy was his best friend, Reedwhisper. Reedwhisper was a half-wit who knew nothing about how to lead anything or anyone. No wonder he and Scarletstar were friends. They were just like each other.

Swirledpath brushed against Oakshard's pelt, and leaned against him. She whispered something to him, brushing her cheek against his. Sunleaf forced back a growl that was threatening to let lose. Then both cats looked back at her. She forced her fur to lie flat, and her claws to remain sheathed. Oakshard padded over to her, with Swirledpath behind him.

"Oh, hi there Oakshard!" Sunleaf said in a cheery voice. She wouldn't let Swirledpath stop her from having a normal conversation with Oakshard. Oakshard looked down at her and said, "Swirledpath said you've been insulting her, and attacking her for no reason." I was shocked. I looked at Swirledpath, who had a smug look on her face. "I never did any of that!" Sunleaf protested, not wanting Oakshard to think she was a bad cat. He simply looked at her coldly. "Lying about it isn't going to help. If this continues I am going to take this matter to Scarletstar," he said, then left.

Sunleaf stood there, frozen with shock. Swirledpath made sure he was out of hearing before saying, "Stay away from him Sunleaf. If I see you trying to talk to him ever I will make sure he knows about how mean you are." She snickered, then padded after Oakshard. Once by him, she brushed up close to him and attempted to twine their tails. Sunleaf couldn't help a look of triumph when he moved his tail away from hers. But there was one thing she knew; she needed to talk to Oakshard. And she needed to do it before it was too late.

A few days later, Sunleaf waved Oakshard over. He looked at her coldly, and she knew he still thought that she had done those things to Swirledpath. It killed her inside to see the coldness in the eyes of the cat the cat she loved while he was looking at her. But he still walked forward to see what she wanted. He still cared enough to come over. Maybe there was still a hope after all.

"Oakshard, I need to talk to you, privately. Could we talk in the clearing by the stream?" Sunleaf asked gently, with pleading in her eyes. The pleading was for a second chance. A second chance to explain everything, to show him that she's still a good cat. If he listened, Sunleaf would tell him that she loved him. He was reluctant, she could tell. The small hope she had felt started to fade. It must have shown in her eyes, because he looked into them and his eyes softened, if only slightly. "Fine," he says gruffly, and walks into the woods. Sunleaf followed him, her heart filled with glee.

When they got into the clearing, Oakshard looked at Sunleaf with a questioning look. "Please don't interrupt this time. I want to explain things fully," she said, hoping he would agree. After a short amount of time, he nodded his head. "All right." He said, sitting down. Sunleaf sat down too, and said, "I never did anything to Swirledpath. She said that because of one reason. She wants to be your mate. And she is the type of cat that can fool anyone. I know this first hand because she fooled me once. She fooled me into thinking that she would win you over by caring, not by lies. The thing is..." Sunleaf hesitated, then went on. "The thing is that she is chasing me away from you because she knows that I love you.

Oakshard looked at Sunleaf and for a heartbeat, she thought he believed her. But then he shook his head. "I'm sorry but… I can't believe you. I have a feeling you're the one who is trying to win me over without actually caring." Those words cut her to the core. Before she knew what she was doing, her paws lead her away from the clearing. She paid no attention to where she was going until she was there. It was a cliff. Sunleaf shook, thoughts racing through her head. A dark brown shape crashed through the trees. It was Oakshard. But what he said wasn't what she wanted to hear.

"Don't pretend you're going to do this. I know you won't." He said simply. He didn't believe she actually liked him. That was all she needed. Sunleaf backed up until she was at the cliffs edge. Then she took a step back, and there was nothing left to support her. Sunleaf saw Oakshard's eyes widen, and saw him attempt to leap forward. But it was too late. The last thing she ever saw was the guilt, shock, and sadness in his eyes. She died with a sad and lonely heart.


End file.
